Suffolk County lawmakers on Thursday approved a $10 million settlement for Martin Tankleff, who served 17 years in prison for killing his parents before an appellate court overturned the conviction in 2007. The legislature’s Ways and Means Committee voted 5-0 for the settlement, which was recommended by County Attorney Dennis Brown. “There’s no amount of […]
Rumors are swirling that President Trump’s personal lawyers are suggesting to him that he not voluntarily meet with Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller to answer questions in Mueller’s Russia probe. Of course they are and they well should tell him to not go gently into that good night. As any good criminal defense lawyer who has […]
Louisiana man Robert McCoy was accused of killing Christine Colston Young, Willie Young and Gregory Colston, who were the mother, stepfather and son of Mr. McCoy’s estranged wife. There was substantial evidence that he had done so. The actual shooting was caught on tape as the victim had called 911 upon the shooter’s arrival and […]
An Upstate NY food truck that serves fusion barbecue fare under the name “Wandering Dago” scored a significant victory at the end of a legal battle with the State, which had banned Wandering Dago from serving its offerings at the Saratoga Race Track. and as part of the NY State Lunch Program on the Empire […]
Arthur Johnson was 18 years old when he was convicted of murder following a street fight that occurred in 1970. He was sentenced to life without parole and committed to the custody of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. He was a troubled inmate in his early years of incarceration, taking part in two violent escape […]
Suffolk County, NY judge Janine Barbera Dalli sent text messages to Suffolk County prosecutors this week, guiding them on how to charge and try a case against a defendant, in clear violation of judicial ethics that bar judges from communicating privately with one side in a case. To their credit, prosecutors immediately disclosed the texts […]
On Tuesday The Supreme Court will hear oral argument on one of the most anticipated cases on the docket for this term: Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission Back in 2012, Charlie Craig and David Mullins were set to celebrate their wedding in Denver, after having been married in Massachusetts. Jack Phillips, a well […]
Some cases take on a bigger life. Some cases get caught up in a political firestorm. Sacco and Vanzetti, The Scopes trial, The Rosenbergs, Willie Horton, Rodney King to name a few. They end up being not about what actually happened but about some larger societal issue that is reflected in the case. Anarchists, Evolution, […]
The Dept of Defense changed a policy this month affecting the 41 remaining detainees at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, known as Gitmo. The DOD ruled that detainees did not possess the artwork they created while detained and could not display it publicly or sell it. Art classes started at Gitmo “in the later years of […]
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